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Majority Support For Cannabis Decriminalization In Victoria, Australia

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

A recent survey conducted in Victoria, a state in southeast Australia, found that a majority of participants support modernizing the jurisdiction’s cannabis policies to decriminalize personal cannabis possession and use. Currently, medical cannabis is permitted in Victoria in some instances but recreational cannabis use is prohibited.

According to domestic reporting, the survey involved 1,511 Victorians over 18 years old. Of those surveyed, 54% were in favor of “decriminalising cannabis and creating a regulated market for personal adult use.”

In Victoria, cannabis is currently considered a ‘drug of dependence.’ Offenders who are caught with less than 50 grams of cannabis face a possible fine if it is their first offense and progressively harsher penalties for subsequent offenses.

Of the recent survey participants who did not express support for cannabis reform, only 28.5% indicated that they opposed cannabis policy modernization. A smaller percentage, 17.5%, responded that they were unsure about the policy change proposal. Per The Canberra Times:

The survey, conducted by polling outfit RedBridge on behalf of public health research and drug policy body Penington Institute, shows the highest level of support for regulation over criminalisation in an Australian independent third-party poll so far.

Penington Institute CEO John Ryan, who chaired an independent panel review into the North Richmond supervised injecting room, said the community wants change and the state must listen.

“More and more Victorians reject the criminalisation of cannabis and the harms inherent with this approach,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

The Australian Capital Territory decriminalized personal cannabis activity in 2020. Currently in the Australian Capital Territory, people 18 and older can possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis or up to 150 grams of ‘fresh cannabis.’

Adults can also cultivate up to two plants per person, with a maximum of four plants per household. Cannabis use in a private residence is permitted, however, cannabis cultivation and consumption are still prohibited in public settings in the Australian Capital Territory.

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Cabinet Approval For Thai Cannabis Ban Expected Later This Month

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

Thailand made regional history in 2022 when lawmakers in the Southeastern Asian country implemented a cannabis decriminalization measure. Unfortunately, less than two years after the measure took effect, lawmakers in Thailand are seeking to reverse the policy.

At the time of decriminalization’s enactment, the measure was hailed as an amazing achievement for the global cannabis reform movement, with cannabis being removed from Thailand’s list of banned substances.

The monumental policy shift served as a particularly big deal in the region where Thailand is located, with many countries in the area still having some of the harshest cannabis penalties on earth.

Thailand’s new approach involved permitting every household in the entire country to sign up to legally cultivate low-THC cannabis plants. There were no plant limits for the government’s cultivation program when it launched, and Thailand’s government even gave away over 1 million cannabis seeds directly to households that signed up.

A broad spectrum of government agencies in Thailand agreed leading up to the implementation to do their part to push Thailand’s emerging cannabis industry forward. Thailand also released thousands of people serving time for cannabis offenses.

That all changed in August 2023 when a new prime minister was elected, with the new incumbent vocally opposing cannabis reform. Now, members of Thailand’s Cabinet are expected to approve a cannabis ban later this month. Per excerpts from Al Jazeera:

But the Thai government is looking to stamp out cannabis culture with a ban on its recreational use to be rolled out by the end of the year. Medical use will still be permitted.

In an interview with Reuters last month, Thai Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew described recreational marijuana as a “misuse” of cannabis that has a negative impact on Thai children and could lead to other drug abuses.

The Thai government’s draft law banning recreational use of cannabis will be up for cabinet approval later this month.

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Morocco Reports First Legal Cannabis Harvest

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business, Policy.

According to Morocco’s Agence Nationale de Réglementation des Activités relatives au Cannabis (ANRAC), the nation’s first legal cannabis crop totaled 294 metric tons.

The legal harvest is part of a new government program in Morocco that was launched to give cannabis farmers in the North African nation a path to join the regulated industry. Historically, Morocco is one of the world’s largest sources of unregulated cannabis, with Moroccan cannabis being particularly popular in Europe.

Morocco first adopted its current medical cannabis policy in 2021. The measure authorized the legal production of cannabis for medical, cosmetic, and industrial uses, as well as tasked a national agency to oversee the launch and operation of the industry.

In March 2022, Morocco’s government selected three provinces where medical cannabis would eventually be legally cultivated for domestic and export purposes. Roughly three months later, the nation’s national cannabis regulatory agency, ANRAC, met for the first time. In October 2022, Morocco issued its first cannabis production permits.

The recent harvest is the culmination of years of effort on the part of Morocco’s emerging industry, regulators, and elected officials. It will take a while before Morocco’s legal industry supplants its unregulated industry, however, the 294 metric ton harvest is still a major milestone. Per excerpts from Reuters:

The harvest was made by 32 cooperatives that brought together 430 farmers covering 277 hectares in the northern Rif mountain areas of Al Houceima, Taounat and Chefchaouen, ANRAC said in an email to Reuters.

This year, the regulator is examining applications by 1,500 farmers who organised themselves into 130 cooperatives, ANRAC said.

Nearly a million people live in areas of northern Morocco where cannabis is the main economic activity. It has been publicly grown and smoked there for generations, mixed with tobacco in traditional long-stemmed pipes with clay bowls.

The value of Morocco’s medical cannabis market was valued at USD 24.90 million in 2022 according to Grand View Research. The nation’s medical cannabis market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.0% from 2023 to 2030.

Cannabis industry data company BDSA projects that the legal global cannabis industry will be worth $55 billion by 2027.

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Cannabis Advocates Demand Action In The Philippines

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

The cultivation and/or use of cannabis is currently illegal in the Philippines, per Republic Act 9165 and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The level of penalty depends on the amount involved and whether there was perceived intent to distribute by law enforcement.

Furthermore, even simply having metabolized THC in a person’s system is illegal in the Philippines, with offenders being required to undergo at least six months at a government rehabilitation center if they are prosecuted.

Back in December 2022, a petition was submitted by cannabis advocates that sought to reclassify cannabis from its current position on the nation’s list of dangerous substances. The board that oversees such petitions has yet to respond. Advocates are ramping up pressure to yield the response. Per excerpts from Inquirer:

In his statement, Manansala said that the DDB acknowledged the receipt of the petition during a Senate Committee hearing on December 13, 2022.

He added that he was given a date of July 31, 2023 for a “definitive action” on the petition but the “date came and went without a response, much less an action.”

Manansala noted that he was again snubbed by a DBB representative at the latest Senate hearing on the matter last month.

One of the driving forces behind the push to reclassify cannabis in the Philippines is to afford suffering patients the opportunity to seek safe access to cannabis medicines and therapies.

House Bill 4208 was previously filed by Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte. The measure seeks to create a national regulatory agency to oversee the production and marketing for the export of cannabidiol.

“We are in favor of the legalization of medical use of marijuana and its products, your honor,” Commission on Appointments on Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa stated at the time.

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Patients With PTSD And Depression Report Improvements Following Cannabis Use

Written by Frank Schuler on . Posted in Science.

International researchers estimate that nearly 4% of the world’s population suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers also estimate that 5% of the world’s adult population suffers from depression. They are two of the most common mental health conditions around the globe.

Common treatments for PTSD include different types of trauma-focused psychotherapy as well as pharmaceutical medications. Common treatments for depression include therapy and/or prescribed medications.

A team of researchers in the United Kingdom recently conducted a study looking at the use of cannabis therapies and PTSD and depression. Below is more information about their findings via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and comorbid depression respond favorably to the use of medical cannabis preparations, according to data published in the journal BMJ Psych Open.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in a cohort of patients suffering simultaneously from post-traumatic stress and depression. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Self-reported symptoms were assessed three months after subjects initiated their cannabis use.

Investigators reported, “Treatment with prescribed cannabis was associated with substantial reductions in the severity of PTSD symptomatology, with these improvements being more marked in individuals with depression.”

They concluded: “Treatment with CBMPs is associated with significant improvements in well-being and quality of life in PTSD after three months. … These results parallel previous findings for quality of life across a broad range of conditions and for PTSD specifically and highlight the potential benefits of CBMPs for symptom reduction and improvements in well-being across a wide range of chronic conditions.”

Prior assessments of patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression have similarly concluded that cannabis therapy can improve subjects’ health-related quality of life. By contrast, a 2021 clinical trial concluded that the inhalation of marijuana flower provided limited benefits compared to placebo in treating symptoms of PTSD.

Full text of the study, “Medicinal cannabis for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression: Real-world evidence,” appears in BMJ Psych Open. Additional information on cannabis and post-traumatic stress is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

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Cannabis Is Associated With Quality Of Life Improvements Per German Analysis

Written by Frank Schuler on . Posted in Science.

Chronically ill patients who use legally prescribed medical cannabis products report improvements in their overall quality of life according to the findings of a recent analysis conducted by a team of researchers in Germany.

Per data published in the German medical journal Schmerz, eighty-four percent of medical cannabis patients surveyed reported quality of life improvements following their use of prescribed medical cannabis.

The team of German researchers assessed patient-reported data in a nationwide sampling involving 1,582 patients authorized to use cannabis by their German physicians. Since 2017, doctors in Germany have been permitted to prescribe medical cannabis to patients who are historically unresponsive to ‘traditional’ therapies.

“The survey of Copeia captured early 2022 patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in Germany under cannabis medicinal product (CAM) therapy, with particular attention to symptoms, symptom changes, indications, side effects, dosages, and cost bearers.” the researchers stated about their analysis.

“A standardized questionnaire was administered online nationwide in dialogue form over a 15-week period to collect itemized symptoms and PRO. Recruitment was supported by pharmacies, prescribing physicians, and patient associations. Inclusion criteria included physician-prescribed CAM therapy.” the researchers also stated.

Patients involved in the analysis reported suffering from chronic pain, depression, sleep disturbances, and various other symptoms.

“Of 1582 participants, 1030 data sets (65%) could be completely analyzed. There was a heterogeneous patient population, whose common feature was disease chronicity. The frequency distribution of symptoms showed a homogeneous pattern for the respective indications, in which the most frequent six (pain 71%, sleep disturbance 64%, stress/tension 52%, inner restlessness 52%, depressive mood 44% and muscle tension 43%) seem to have a special significance.” the researchers stated about their findings.

“A symptom matrix (SMX) composed of different symptoms seems to play a special role in CAM therapy to improve the quality of life of chronically ill patients, regardless of the underlying disease. The SMX could contribute to the identification of an indication and to targeted treatment monitoring.” the researchers concluded.

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Flower Will Not Be Included In France’s Medical Cannabis Program

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

France’s medical cannabis public policy experiment received initial approval from the nation’s Senate back in 2019, however, the launch of the trial was delayed until the spring of 2021 due to various reasons.

Initially slated for two years, France’s medical cannabis experiment was eventually granted a one-year extension and was set to end in 2024. In October 2023, it was announced that the program would receive another one-year extension, and is now slated to go until at least 2025.

Unfortunately, the French National Medicines Safety Agency recently confirmed that flower will no longer be included in the nation’s medical cannabis program in the near future. Per Business of Cannabis:

In a public update and accompanying letter to healthcare professionals, the ANSM confirmed this in no uncertain terms.

“Medicines in the form of flowers (flowering tops to be inhaled) will cease to be made available in the coming weeks. Prescribing doctors must therefore gradually stop flower treatment for their patients and not initiate new treatments with this form.”

As of March 26, cannabis flower will cease being provided by the programme’s sole flower supplier, Aurora, and once reserve stocks have been exhausted, patients will have no legal route to secure medical cannabis flower.

Many patients prefer cannabis flower over other forms of medical cannabis due to how fast the effects take hold compared to other forms, such as edibles. Access to cannabis flower also provides flexibility for patients who want to make their own preparations, such as homemade tinctures.

Several jurisdictions around the globe limit legal medical cannabis to pharmaceutical forms, which forces many patients to the unregulated market to source their medicine. A robust medical cannabis program, such as the types of programs found in North America, provides legal access to flower and other options to help ensure that all patients get the best types of medicine for their situation.

It is estimated that out of the roughly 2,500 patients that are enrolled in France’s program, only about 100 of them currently receive cannabis flower.

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German Health Minister: Legalization Will Greatly Reduce Court Burdens

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Policy.

Cannabis legalization in Germany will provide many benefits, including benefits to non-cannabis consumers. Arguably one of the most important benefits will be the savings to the nation’s criminal justice system, including Germany’s court system.

Enforcing prohibition policies that outlaw cannabis is often, if not always, extremely expensive. Every law enforcement position that is tasked with enforcing cannabis prohibition comes with a cost. The same is true for court proceedings to convict an individual of a cannabis offense, and in cases of jail time, that costs a considerable sum per offender as well.

Cannabis prohibition is particularly expensive in Germany.

According to a 2021 report from Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Germany would save 1.05 billion euros annually by no longer enforcing cannabis prohibition, in addition to judiciary savings of 313 million euros per year. Imagine what those funds could do when applied to such things as education and infrastructure projects.

Those potential savings are not lost on Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Minister Lauterbach recently posted on social media about the judiciary savings that Germany will experience once cannabis legalization takes effect:

Auto-translated from German to English, the post states, “If cannabis becomes legal we must remove the penalties. The courts reject this, workload. But legalization will greatly reduce the burden on the courts. We cannot keep people in prison because we want to avoid having to work with them.”

With cannabis legalization inevitable in Germany despite cannabis opponents’ attempts to thwart it, Germany would be wise to immediately suspend cannabis prohibition enforcement against individual consumers within its borders.

Part of that involves releasing cannabis consumers from incarceration and expunging their convictions, as well as expunging all other consumer offenses currently on the books.

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An Estimated 750 People Have Joined Malta’s Legal Cannabis Clubs

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

In late 2021, Malta became the first European nation to pass a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Before Malta’s legalization measure was approved, only Uruguay and Canada had passed a national adult-use measure. Since that time, Luxembourg and Germany have also passed national legalization measures.

Malta’s legalization model relies upon home cultivation and noncommercial cannabis clubs for consumers to legally source their cannabis. Malta issued its first noncommercial cannabis club license in October 2023 and issued multiple other club licenses by the end of the calendar year.

The world recently received an update from Malta regarding how many consumers have signed up for club memberships so far. Per Times of Malta:

A total of 750 people have joined cannabis associations in their first month of operation, the Reforms Parliamentary Secretary said on Monday.

Three legal cannabis clubs have each started distributing the drug to 250 members since the end of January, and so far the data shows all members had previously used cannabis, Rebecca Buttigieg said during a press briefing.

According to survey data from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 22% of Malta’s citizens have consumed cannabis at least once in their lifetime, and roughly 7% of Maltese citizens report having consumed cannabis at least once in the last year.

Malta has a population of roughly 518,000 people, so seven percent of that figure would equate to over 36,000 people.

Obviously, not all of the reported once-a-year consumers use cannabis frequently enough to necessitate joining a cannabis club. Furthermore, many consumers presumably cultivate their own cannabis now that it is legal to do so in Malta. These factors are significant to keep in mind for contextual purposes when considering Malta’s current cannabis club membership levels.